Editorial: Will you elect the right candidate?

If you didn’t vote in the advance poll, you still can do so Thursday at the Morinville Community Cultural Centre. That is the official Election Day and your last opportunity to put in your two cents on who should take the seventh seat on council.

The seventh seat is a critical seat on this council and the reason why they decided to have a by-election. The Municipal Government Act did not require it but our Council was wise enough to know that with a six-member council, the odds of a tie vote are quite good. In the world of municipal politics, a tied vote means a defeated motion.

So sitting at home and not casting your ballot could mean putting money into a playground in South Glens is defeated because the candidate elected by your apathy casts the vote to defeat that motion. Watching a little TV Thursday night may mean that on some future Tuesday night your apathy-elected candidate shifts the balance of power in a way that is not in your favour.

There are six candidates running for office and past issues of this publication and or online archives of election articles and videos provide you with all the info you need to make a sound choice on which to vote for.

Six candidates are running, each with their own motivation for running for office and for seeking that important seventh spot.
What is a reality – fiery editorials from the pulpit on the importance of voting aside – is that by-elections generally bring out a lower turnout and voter turnout is usually low to begin with. The separation between front runner and runner up is likely to be well under 100 votes this time around. Front runner equals new councillor; runner up equals another 12 months on the streets in the sidelines with the rest of us.

Without picking names or picking issues, some of our candidates have some pet issues that drive them. That is not to say they will not represent all residents or bring their individual skills to bear on the issues that concern us all. But you need to cast your vote for the candidate who is most likely to be grounded in the community they represent and who has the knowledge of the council process, the work council has already done, and the ability to clearly know when the work ahead needs to steer right, steer left or merely go with the flow.

Only you, the voter, know who that candidate is, and only your vote can give that candidate the power to be one of our community’s law and policy makers.

None of that happens unless you get off your seat and vote to put them in theirs.

Visit MorinvilleNews.com Friday morning for full details on election results or follow us on Twitter Thursday night for play-by-play commentary. Our Twitter handle is @MorinvilleNews.

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